Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1887-12-02
CITY AND DISTRICT.
MAKING Governments CURRENCY.
Tee of steam Power i'm Printing Notes.
Certificates, Etc.

WHAT CHIEF GRAVES SAYS ABOUT THE MATTER IN
HIS INNUAL REPoRT-OrH sR MATTERS IN THE b.
RrGU or ESGRkvISG.ANp PRINTING.
Mr. Graves report OF the operations of the Bureau
OF Engraving and Printing during the past year,
shows that notes. certificates &C., 10 the amount
OF SI3s .y76 sOO have been printed The work dur
In the year very satisfactory, and the expen-
dItures show great economy. The Knights OF
Labor passed resolutions at Minneapolis protest
ing against the use OF steam presses In the print
Ing OF money. In connection with the large
amount Of work the bureau will be called upon
20 do next year, Mr.. Graves discusses the use OF
The steam presses as follows: 1.-The execution OF
this enormous quantity OF work viii tax the ca
pacity % the bureau TO the utmost. Space for the
performance OF the additional work can be found
In Lhe building occupied by this bureau only by
the u labOrsaying machines In all OF the pro-
cesses u which they are adapted. The estimates
were accordingly made on the assumption that q
large part Of the additional printing Will be done
on steam plate-pr1nting presses SIX machines
for a number OF years been used success
fully In printing certain varieties OF green
internal revenue stamps During the last
fiscal year six improved machines OF this
pattern were introduced and applied with sig
nal success 10 the printing Of the backs OF the
one aud two dollar silver certificates. All OF the
one-d1llar backs printed since January 81, 1857,
and all Of the twO-dO.lar backs printed since
April % lsS7, have been printed on these presses
"A
class done ON the hand-rOiler presses. The great
Increase since the beginning OF the present nScal
year in the demand Tor Internal revenue stamps
has Id 10 the purchase, within the last two
months, OF six presses with stil further improve
u-ut-. on which 70 PRINT part OF the cigar
STAMPS. The difficulties incident 10 the introduce
lion of an new machinery had TO be cODtended
with at urst, but they have been overcome, and a
large part OF the stamps OF this class are now
being printed on the steam-pOwer presses With
out The aid OF these presses which are In full
and successful operation, II would have been i'm
possible % meet the d nands OF the Internal-rev-
enue bureau FOR this class Of WORK.
although these machines are known as steam
presses, they retain all the advantages Of the
manipulating process. Only the purely mechan-
fcai parts Of the work which require power without
special Intelligence or SKILL are done by machin-
cry. The ink, plates and materials are the same
as those used on the presses operated by hand,
while the final polishing OF the plate, which IS
the pant OF the work where intelligence ami skill
are brought into play, IS done by hand precisely
on tine hand presses To do the work OF the
next fiscal year II Is proposed TO Introduce twelve
more steam presses, Increasing the number TO
thirty-One unClnding one press Of the Homer Lee
patJernl and 70 retain all OF the hand presses now
In USE In addition, the estimates provide for In
creasing the hand printers by eleven TO take the
place Of those who may be absent on leave or
otherwise. In this way the work Of the bureau
can be done with the greatest economy OF space,
labor anu money. The annual saving from the
us Oi steam presses will then be s149 900 and the
aggregate work performed by 210 printers working
on the two kinds OF presses will be equal TO the
product Of the labor OF at least :s5 men working
on hand presses alone, number for which IL
would be quite impossible 20 ind room in the
building, TO say nothing Of the impossibility OF
securing the additional number OF competent
NOrkH.cn.H
Mr.. Graves recommends that the schedule OF
grades and salaries under which the bureau Was
receuty rcOrSanized be ratified by law. There are
now Ssrs employees. The estimates for the fiscal
year lsS, 81, IJ2,9l5l show a large increase over
The appropriation for 1888 This Is said TO be due
% the greatly increased estimates made by the
various branches OF the Government of the guam
tty VI securities which they Will require that year.
These estimates average 30 per cent above the
present production